Down The Rabbit Hole
by CriminalOutsider'sGirl14
Summary: The night that Sodapop ran out, Sandy had returned Soda back his letter he had sent to her, unopened. Why has Soda been acting so weird lately? What if there was another letter, much less trivial, hidden in plain sight under Sandy's? Will Soda be lost down the rabbit hole, forever? Soda war-fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Outburst and Letters**

 **Down The Rabbit Hole**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like I own The Outsiders? The real owner of The Outsiders is the best author ever, S.E. Hinton. I also do not make a profit from the stories that I write on this site.**

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think! Criticism is welcome, but no flames please. Flames killed Johnny. Suggestions are always welcome, no matter what they may be. Thank you.**

 **Ages:**

 **Ponyboy: 15**

 **Sodapop and Steve: 18**

 **Darry: 20**

 **Two-Bit: 19**

 **Summary:** The night that Sodapop ran out, Sandy had returned Soda back his letter he had sent to her, unopened. Why has Soda been acting so weird lately? What if there was another letter, much less trivial, hidden in plain sight under Sandy's? Will Soda be lost down the rabbit hole, forever?

 **Third Person POV ~ _Fall, 1965_ ~**

"Your livin' in a vacuum, Ponyboy, and you gonna have to cut it out," Darry drawled angrily, taking another bite of baked chicken and shoving it into his mouth before beginning to talk again. "You don't just stop living because you loose somebody. I thought that you would have understood this by now."

"Well, it just ain't that easy, is it, Darry? Why can't I just drop out of school like Sodapop," Pony hollered back, looking at Soda for support.

"Goddammit you guys!" Sodapop bursts out. "Why can't you just leave me out of y'all's fights?" He threw his chair back as he stood up and then proceeding to storm out of the house.

Ponyboy and Darry looked at each other in shock and then back at the screen door. Darry sighed and picked up what Soda had dropped in his was Sandy's unopened letter.

"It's a letter from Sandy, returned unopened. He was gonna marry her, Ponyboy." Darry let the rest hang unspoken in the air.

 _Why didn't I just listen to him more_ , Ponyboy wondered guiltily, staring down at his feet. _Did he even try to talk to me, and I didn't pay attention to him_? _He always listens to me when I want to talk_.

"Come on, Ponyboy, let's go after him," Darry sighed, following his brother out the screen door, listening to it slam behind them.

As they talked outside in the crisp fall air, clearing the tense air, nobody but Soda knew what letter laid under Sandy's addressed to one Mr. Sodapop Patrick Curtis.

 **Ponyboy's POV (The Next Day)**

"Sodapop! Get up for work. Ponyboy, you got school too," Darry barged into me and Sodapop's room and hollered, shaking the bed annoyingly.

I groaned, rolling back over on the bed to try and grab a few extra minutes of sleep. No such luck. Darry wouldn't leave until we were out of bed.

I was greasing my hair, already showered, when Sodapop came into the bathroom with a worried, concerned look on his face. It didn't fit my brother.

"Ponyboy," he started, and then stopped. I turned away from the mirror to face him.

"What's wrong, Soda?" I asked him worriedly, frowning. I thought that we had cleared everything up last night. _Was it still about Sandy_?

"Nothing. I just love you lots, kiddo," Soda told me, shaking his head.

Before I left for school, instead of ruffling my hair or doing something equally annoying like Sodapop normally did, he gave me a big hug.

I got in Two-Bit's car to go to school feeling even more worried than before. It was an extremely silent ride that morning.

 **A/N: This is the prologue to my new story. Any guesses on what the mystery letter is? I hope that I made it pretty obvious, yet subtle. :) I'm evil, I know guys! Thanks for reading and please review.**

 **Word Count: 649 words**

 **Bunnies to y'all,**

 **~Alee XxX**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Rabbits On The Highway**

 **Down The Rabbit Hole**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like I own The Outsiders? The real owner of The Outsiders is the best author ever, S.E. Hinton. I also do not make a profit from the stories that I write on this site.**

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think! Criticism is welcome, but no flames please. Flames killed Johnny. Suggestions are always welcome, no matter what they may be. Thank you!**

 **Ponyboy ~ _Fall, 1965_ ~**

On the way home from school I silently stared out the window, despite Two-Bit's efforts to engage me in a conversation with him. As I watched the scenery fly past me, I saw a small, grey bunny in the distance hopping along the side of the road, completely carefree. I watched it for a few minutes and then it disappeared from my sight into the dense forest and hills.

I knew then, somehow, that I needed to talk to Sodapop tonight. I just didn't now how bad.

"There a cute babe out there?" Two-Bit asked, howling with laughter.

"Just some rabbit," I responded, shrugging, but I had no idea how important that little rabbit was.

 **Sodapop**

I tried to keep myself busy at work all day, talking to Steve and flirting with the groups of hot girls that came in, but it didn't work. I couldn't keep my mind off of the letter from Sandy, and the other one I had received.

"Steve..." I started, but I stopped. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him that I had gotten two letters that day, that it wasn't just Sandy's letter in the mail. And while it tore me up that she gave up on us like that and that she didn't love me, it wasn't all that was eating and me. Because that second letter wasn't from Sandy.

It was from the government. It was my blasted draft letter.

"What'daya need, Sodapop?" Steve looked up from what he was doing, and the words got caught in my throat.

"I-uh... I think I'm gonna have to-uh... put my two weeks in," I muttered in a strained voice.

"What? Why?" Steve gave me his full attention then.

"Be-Because... Steve, I got my notice in the mail yesterday," I finally got the words out of my mouth. Steve threw the wrench the wrench he was holding across the garage.

He started cursing and didn't stop for a good few minutes, and when he ran out of words he started making some up.

"I'll go there with you then-"

"No you don't, Steve. Your gonna stay here and watch out for Ponyboy and Darry for me," I told him firmly. I couldn't be worrying about him and trying to fight.

Steve gave me a frustrated stare and didn't say anything else to me during work. It drove me crazy, but I couldn't get my mouth to form the words I needed to say to start a conversation.

If that was hard, how was I going to tell Ponyboy and Darry?

 **Word Count: 542 words**

 **Bunnies to y'all,**

 **~Alee XxX**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Detailed Ceiling Cracks**

 **Down The Rabbit Hole**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like I own The Outsiders? The real owner of The Outsiders is the best author ever, S.E. Hinton. I also do not make a profit from the stories that I write on this site.**

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think! Criticism is welcome, but no flames please. Flames killed Johnny. Suggestions are always welcome, no matter what they may be. Thank you!**

 **Sodapop ~ _Fall, 1965_ ~**

Dinner was filed with uncomfortable silent. You could have cut the tension in the air with a switchblade. I couldn't think of anything to say to ease the atmosphere.

"Great dinner, Darry," I muttered finally.

 _'Nice one, Sodapop_ ,' I thought sarcastically.

"What's wrong, Sodapop? You've been silent all night. You feelin' alright over here?" Darry asked me, concern lacing his deep, husky voice. I shrugged noncommittally.

"I'm just a little tired. I think I'll probably turn in early," I responded warily, trying to ease Darry's worries. He frowned, but nodded just the same. I set my plate in the sink and began washing it with meticulous speculation. Ponyboy came up behind me to help me, scraping off his own plate into the sink. We did the dishes in mutual, uncomfortable silence.

"What's really botherin' you? You use to always talk to me," genuine hurt clouded my little brother's young, worried features. But innocent was how I wanted him to say, even though I knew they it was so wrong to hide it from him.

"One day you'll understand, Ponyboy," was all I had to say. I slipped out of the room inconspicuously and laid in bed, at staring at the white ceiling cracks.

"Why me?" I muttered to no one in particular, my eyes filling up with tears unexpectedly. I buried my face into my pillow and sobbed.

 **OoOoOoO**

I took a shuddering deep breath and began writing in my signature chicken scratch. It was chicken and I knew it, but I wrote out the note anyway. It took me multiple tomes before I completed one that I actually kind of liked.

 _ **Dear Ponyboy and Darry,**_

 _ **I couldn't tell you in person so I desided write this letter. I got my notice in the mail with Sandy's unopened letter last week. By time you read this I will already be in Oklahoma City. I didn't have the heart to tell you guys this. I'm sorry. Take care for me and I'll be back soon, okay? Don't let Steve sign up either. Sorry again. I love you guys a lots. Take care.**_

 _ **\- Sodapop Patrick Curtis**_

I had the letter all written up, and then I crumpled it up and threw it at the wall angrily. I couldn't do that to my brothers. They deserved to know. They deserved to hear it from me in person.

I rushed out the door for work, still reeling.

 **Word Count: 510 words**

 **Bunnies to y'all,**

 **~Alee XxX**


End file.
